com ‧ mu ‧ ni ‧ cate S3 W3 AC /kəˈmjuːnəkeɪt, kəˈmjuːnɪkeɪt/ BrE AmE verb
[ Word Family: noun : ↑ communication , ↑ communicator ; verb : ↑ communicate ; adjective : ↑ communicative ≠ UNCOMMUNICATIVE ]
[ Date: 1500-1600 ; Language: Latin ; Origin: past participle of communicare 'to give information, take part' , from communis ; ⇨ ↑ common 1 ]
1 . EXCHANGE INFORMATION [intransitive and transitive] to exchange information or conversation with other people, using words, signs, writing etc:
We communicated mostly by e-mail.
communicate with
People use more than words when they communicate with each other.
communicate something to somebody
The decision was communicated to our staff late in 1998.
2 . TELL PEOPLE SOMETHING [intransitive and transitive] to express your thoughts and feelings clearly, so that other people understand them ⇨ convey :
A baby communicates its needs by crying.
communicate something to somebody
Without meaning to, she communicated her anxiety to her child.
His enthusiasm communicated itself to the voters.
A teacher must be able to communicate effectively to students.
3 . UNDERSTAND [intransitive] if two people communicate, they are able to talk about and understand each other’s feelings or desires:
Many couples make themselves miserable by not communicating.
communicate with
Parents sometimes find it difficult to communicate with their teenage children.
4 . DISEASE [transitive usually passive] to pass a disease from one person or animal to another ⇨ communicable
5 . ROOMS [intransitive] if rooms or parts of a building communicate, you can get directly to one from the other:
communicating doors
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THESAURUS
▪ communicate verb [intransitive and transitive] to exchange information or have a conversation with someone, by telephone, letter etc, or by seeing them:
Now that we live in different cities, we communicate by e-mail.
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He is able to communicate using a special keyboard, which is connected to a computer.
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This message is not being communicated to staff.
▪ contact verb [transitive] to write to, phone, or email someone especially for the first time, in order to give or ask for information:
Neighbours contacted police after seeing a man with a gun.
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She refused to comment when contacted by reporters from the local newspaper.
▪ get in touch (with somebody) to write to, telephone, or email someone, especially someone who you do not see very often:
I really ought to get in touch with Paula. It's been months since we last spoke.
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You've got my phone number if you need to get in touch.
▪ get hold of somebody to succeed in contacting someone by telephone after trying several times:
Where have you been? I've been trying to get hold of you all week.
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It's no use trying to phone Linda at work – she's impossible to get hold of.
▪ approach verb [transitive] to contact someone that you do not know or have not contacted before, in order to offer them something or ask them for something:
He has already been approached by several professional football teams.
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The company confirmed that it had been approached about a merger.